Convertible chair for children



(No Model.)

A'. OSTLUND. CONVERTIBLE CHAIR ECR CHILDREN.

Patented May 12, 1891 r' i i y Illllllllf Z2 mlmlillll .Bl El.

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UNITED STATES PATENT Dumon.

ADOLPH OSTLUND, OF CENTREVILLE, IOVA.

CONVERTIBLE CHAIR FOR CHILDREN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 452,168, dated May 12, 1891.

Application filed July 28. 1890. Serial No. 360.154. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ADOLPH OsTLUND, a citizen of the United States, residing` at Centreville, in the county of Appanoose and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Convertible Chairs for Children; and I do'declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the artto which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to a new and useful improvement in convertible chairs for children; and it consists in the construction and arrangement of parts more fully hereinafter described, and definitely pointed out in the claims.

Theobject ofmyinventionis toprovideade- -vice which can be converted into a rockingchair, stationary chair, commode, and nursery-chair.

Another object is to provide a chair that may be easily converted, as set forth, and which will be cheap, durable, simple, and compact.

These objects I obtain by the construction illustrated in the accompanying' drawings, forming a part of this specification, wherein like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views, in which- Figure l is a perspective view of my device to be used asa commode, showing the supplemental seat or cushion raised. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the leaf or tray lowered and the seat in its normal position. HFig. 3 is a view of the spring-catch, and Fig. I vis a view of the catch and hinge for the slidingfootrest. Fig. 5 is a detached vertical cross-section through the foot-rest and frame, showing the spring-catch in engagement with the frame.

Referring to the drawings byletter of reference, A is aframe having legs B at its four corners and casters b in said legs; B2, the back; B3, the seat, and B4 the arms, formed with the rest B5. On the rear of the frame A is a support Bf, on which rest rockers C, the support having raised portions b2 extending up from its face near the ends. Pivoted to these supports near its upper'edge are hooks h for engaging with pins on the rockers for retaining the chair in a rigid position.

D are springs secured at their lower ends to the support B and at their upper ends to the rods d, lsaid rods being attached to the chair-seat.

D are guides rigidly secured to the inside of the rockers by brackets d'z, said guides eX- tending below the rockers and impingingV against the inner faces of the supports, serving to retain the rockers in place and preventing lateral displacement.

E are supporting rods or links pivoted to the rockers near theirupper forward ends, and are connected to aleaf or tray F and serve as supports for the tray when in its raised position and to preventlateralmovement when the same is lowered. Secured beneath the rear ends of the leat` are spring-catches f, having acurved forward portion f', a reduced or notched portion f2, and a shoulder f3. The spring-catch engages with a lug or other suitable device F on the arm of the chair and retains the leaf in its raised position on said arms by the lug passing below the curved portion f and resting in the notch f2. To release the leaf it is only necessary to press against the inclined portion f4t and pull the leaf forward a little, when the link E, being past its center, will raise 'the same out of engagement with the lug.

G is a su ppleinental seat or cushion, hinged at g near the rear of the chair-bottom, having a reduced portion semicircular in shape in its forward edge to conform with a similarly-shaped reduction in the chair-bottom..

This supplemental seat is raised and rests against the chair-back proper, exposing a circular opening II in the chair-bottom when it is desired to use the device as a commode.

On the inner face of the frame A is secured a cleat or beading a, which supports a sliding foot-rest I, which has a reduced semicircular portion 'L' in its front edge. The object of this reduced portion in the front edge is to obtain less weight and make the foot-rest more ornamental. It will be noticed that this curvature does not extend entirely across the rest, but terminates about the thickness of the cleat from the edge. This is to afford a bearing-surface for the rest when the rest. is to be used as a support for the tray, thus Ioo making in conjunction with the spring` catches a hinge-joint, hereinafter described. Spring catches or hinges il are secured to the outer upper face of the rests, having a loop j, with which they maybe manipulated. Openings or holes a are made in the inner faces of the frame in the path of the spring-catches, into which the same enter and retain the foot-rest in any desired position.

I have found in practical use that three catch-openings will be sutiicient-viz., when the foot-rest is to be used as a support for a receptacle, when the device is to be used as a commode, as shown in Fig. l, as a foot-rest proper to be placed below the semicircular opening in the edge of the chair-seat, and as a support for the leaf when the same is in the position shown in Fig. 2. The square end of the foot-rest resting on the cleats and the spring-catch fitting snugly in the opening in the frame hold the foot-rest in a rigid vertical position, its inner ends supporting' the tray.

The operation maybe described as follows: To form a chair proper the supplemental seat is lowered and the leal' or tray raised to the position shown in Fig l, the spring-catch in the foot-rest engaging with one of the holes or openings a in the frame. To convert the chair into a commode the supplemental seat 1s raised, exposing the opening in the chairbottom, and the foot-rest disengaged from the holes a by pressin g the loops toward each other and slid beneath the opening in the bottom of the chair, where another hole affords reception for the spring-catches, and any suitable receptacle can be placed immediately beneath the opening. To convert the chair now into a device for prevent-ing children from falling when first learning to walk, the foot-rest is slid forward, the spring-catches engaging with the foremost hole and raised to a vertitical position, as shown in Fig. The leaf is then lowered, resting on the foot-rest, the semicireular opening in the said way forming, in connection with a like opening in the edge of the chair-seat, a cireularopening, (indicated as K.) into which the child is placed7 its feet touching the Hoor and its arms and head above the seat. To place the child in the opening or remove it, I have found it preferable to let the leaf rest on the frame until the child is put in, when the leaf can be raised and held in place by lthe link and foot-rest. To form a rocking-chair the hooks are disengaged from the pins on therockers and the upper portion of the chair is free to move backward and forward, being held in place by the coil-spring, which has a tendency to normally hold it in a horizontal position, andi the guides.

I am aware that many minor changes in the construction and arrangement of parts of my device can be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without in the least departing from the nature and principle of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. In a convertible chair, the frame having cleats on its inner face and extending the length of the same,an extensionintegral with said frame and in the rear thereof, arockingchair mounted thereon and provided with an opening in the seat thereof, springs and guides on the bottom of the chair for retaining the samein place on the frame, and a footrest slidingly supported on the cleats below the chair, having spring-catches in one end to retain the same in a stationary position,sub stantially as described.

In a convertible chair, a base, a rockingehair mounted thereon, means for holding the rocker in alignment with the base, a tray pivotally connected by links with the chair-rockers and adapted to be lowered to the plane of the chair-seat, cleats on the inner face of the base extending the length thereof, and a footrest having asliding and locking engagement with said base and adapted to be turned to and retained in a vertical position to support said tray in its low position, substantially as described.

In a convertible chair, a supporti ng-base, a foot-rest sliding thereon and adapted to be turned to and retained in a vertical position, a rocking-chair provided with a seat having a semicircular opening in the forward outer edge, means for holding the said chair in alignment with and in fixed position on said base, a tray provided in its inner edge with a semieireular opening, and linked pivotal connection between said tray and rockerframe, whereby said tray may be lowered to the plane of the chair-seat and be supported by the foot-rest, substantially as described.

ADOLPII OSTLUND.

Witnesses:

W. W. OLIVER, C, J. PHILLIPS. 

